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Own the Podium's Roger Jackson talks candidly about Canadian teams and the Olympic dream

Alex Gough and Sam Edney where they’ve gone from being way back to being strong competitors. When they (Canadian Luge Federation) hired Wolfgang Staudinger, one of the top German coaches, to come over to work with our athletes we’ve seen them work extremely hard. They’ve doubled and tripled the work load. They may see a medal come out of it. I think ski cross is another example. It’s a brand new sport. I think it’s probably true to say that the organization by the Canadian ski cross group has been exemplary. The Austrians and Americans have a far greater base than we have but the team has come together very well. Snowboard started with a very disorganized arrangement. There needed to be good coaches put in place and discipline. The culture of the sport was different than the work requirement for the Olympic Games. There could be some real success there.”
Our take? Luger Alex Gough has an outside shot at a medal. Ski cross could win three or four of the six medals available.

Photograph by: Coleen De Neve
, PNG

Five years ago the $117 million Own the Podium 2010 program was launched with the aim of asserting Canada as the leading medal winner at the Vancouver/Whistler Games. So far, it has been a success. Canada has won 124 World Cup medals on the 2009-10 World Cup circuit, second to Germany’s 179. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City Canadians won 17 medals and finished tied for fourth in the medal standings with Austria. In Turino Canada got 24 medals and were third. In 2009 Canadian athletes won 29 medals at various world championships, the most of any country. Germany and the U.S. both had 27. Tuesday OTP’s chief executive officer Roger Jackson spoke on a conference call. Here are his comments:

... Canada’s chances of finishing first in 2010

“It’s difficult to pinpoint how we will do. Canada has at least 30 athletes or teams that are serious medal threats. There are another 30 to 40 who are currently in the fourth, fifth and sixth positions and have a very reasonable shot at a medal. Germany has about the same number in the top six and the U.S. has slightly fewer than that. We expect these three countries to be battling it out.

Our take: Watch out for the Germans. They’ll be everywhere. Except curling and hockey.

... Canada having a strong finishing kick

“We don’t expect Canada to challenge for the lead until the last few days of the Games. We expect Germany and the U.S. to lead the medal standings by quite a margin from Day 2 to Day 13. By Day 8 it may well be that the U.S. and Germany are far ahead of Canada, however from Day 13 to 16, the last four days of the Games, Canadian athletes could win 12 or more medals. It’s a matter of scheduling and where our strength happens to be. In Beijing (2008 Games) the media were going nuts because Canada wasn’t winning very many medals in the early stages.”

Our take: Jackson was asking the media to get a grip because this is a familiar pattern. There are no early medals. Somebody writes the ‘we’re trailing Guam’ story. The team picks up steam in the second half. The angst ends.

... how negativity in the media and at home affects athletes

“We’ve been trying to make sure that the athletes are devoid of these kinds of pressures. There’s a lot of effort to keep their spirits high and not be affected by the media reports.”

Our take: Any top level athlete needs a thick skin. But even the thickest skin will have trouble standing up to cheap shots that are cynical and demeaning.

... which sports/athletes have stepped up.

“Luge is a great example both with Alex Gough and Sam Edney where they’ve gone from being way back to being strong competitors. When they (Canadian Luge Federation) hired Wolfgang Staudinger, one of the top German coaches, to come over to work with our athletes we’ve seen them work extremely hard. They’ve doubled and tripled the work load. They may see a medal come out of it. I think ski cross is another example. It’s a brand new sport. I think it’s probably true to say that the organization by the Canadian ski cross group has been exemplary. The Austrians and Americans have a far greater base than we have but the team has come together very well. Snowboard started with a very disorganized arrangement. There needed to be good coaches put in place and discipline. The culture of the sport was different than the work requirement for the Olympic Games. There could be some real success there.”

Our take: Gough has an outside shot at a medal. Ski cross could win three or four of the six medals available.

... who has disappointed

“The last couple of years we’ve seen ups and downs from several sports. I don’t want to dwell on that. We’re going to have to wait and see how some of the sports that haven’t performed well do at the Olympics.”

Our take: Ups and downs? They’ve all been pretty consistent with the possible exception of alpine skiing. But alpine has an extremely deep field of international stars and injuries have really hurt the Canadian team.

“Biathlon has had a strong improvement with Jean-Philippe Le Guellec and Zina Kocher. The men’s cross country ski team is quite exceptional compared to what we’ve had before. We have four or five very solid athletes. Devon Kershaw has been leading that group and we might have some exceptional results in sprint and men’s relay.”

“Alex Gough who started the program 10th to 20th in the world and is now vying for a medal in women’s luge. There are others like Kaillie Humphries in bobsleigh who suddenly realizes that we are every bit as good as the Russians or the Germans or anybody else.”

Our take: Gough is the ‘surprise pick’ of the Games.

... home field pressure

“Pressure is something every world class athlete has to face but they have learned to have confidence in their skills and ability. They’ve learned to have performance on demand. In 2009 at world championships we asked every sport to not hold back, to really demonstrate what they could do. We ended up with 29 medals, more than any country in the world. Coming into these Games the COC has spent a lot of time preparing the athletes to deal with the pressures of family, of friends, of being at home, of the overall expectations. I’m thinking we’ll have a team that’s much better prepared that we’ve had before.”

Our take: It’s like being an NHLer in a Canadian market. Winners love it and thrive.

Canada’s main rivals

“The German strength is in bobsleigh, skeleton and luge and in the sliding sports but this year they’ve also been very strong in biathlon, speed skating and alpine skiing. The Americans, like Canada, have medal potential in more sports but perhaps less dominance in a few of them than the Germans.”

Our take: Much is made of home field advantage. Perhaps nowhere is this greater than at the Whistler Sliding Centre where it really helps to know the track. Canadian experience on the track might dent German dominance.

... the conversion rate. Conversion rate measures the rate at which athletes with at least two top-five results are able to win medals. Between 1984 and 2002 Canada’s had been low

“Our conversion rate used to be between 30 and 40 per cent. Right now it’s a little above 50 per cent (on the World Cup). We hope it will be at 50 per cent during the Games. You don’t know what what will happen with so called home field advantage and the response. The U.S. went from 13 medals in 1998 to 34 in (2002) Salt Lake City. I can’t project how well we will convert until after the Games.

Our take: It’s all about depth and expectation. OTP stresses winning. That’s good. Gone are the days when Canadian athletes were content to go to the Olympics, get the team jacket, put in a sub-par effort and then say ‘I did the best I could, where’s the party?’

... talks with Ottawa to secure funding to continue the program post-2010

“There have been a lot of groups, including the Canadian Olympic Committee, who have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that the argument we’re presenting (to Parliament) is successful. I’m confident that Canadian (2010) results will bring pride to the Canadian public. (Own the Podium) has been a wonderful experiment. It would be a shame if it is not continued with the same enthusiasm that we’ve seen. We’re hoping to achieve the $22 million replacement funding that we’ve requested.”

Our take: It would be cruel to turn off the financial tap now like we did after the 1988 Games in Calgary.

Alex Gough and Sam Edney where they’ve gone from being way back to being strong competitors. When they (Canadian Luge Federation) hired Wolfgang Staudinger, one of the top German coaches, to come over to work with our athletes we’ve seen them work extremely hard. They’ve doubled and tripled the work load. They may see a medal come out of it. I think ski cross is another example. It’s a brand new sport. I think it’s probably true to say that the organization by the Canadian ski cross group has been exemplary. The Austrians and Americans have a far greater base than we have but the team has come together very well. Snowboard started with a very disorganized arrangement. There needed to be good coaches put in place and discipline. The culture of the sport was different than the work requirement for the Olympic Games. There could be some real success there.”
Our take? Luger Alex Gough has an outside shot at a medal. Ski cross could win three or four of the six medals available.

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